Philadelphia, PA

• Ana07.08.2009

  I was really excited to see that Dwell was featuring a story on Philadelphia, but I couldn't have been more disappointed. There is so much exciting design in this city, past and present. You wouldn't know it at all from reading this. I don't even get a sense that your Philly native has a very strong understanding himself. I suggest spending a little more time researching on your next trip here and expanding beyond the usual tourist traps.

• Chris McD07.13.2009

  I wrote an awesomely bombastic letter to your magazine already regarding this article, but I wanted to write again with a fraction more tact, because in all seriousness this article was very bad. The tone of Geoff Manaugh's introduction is what really sets me off. In just five sentences your author dismisses the entire city, it's architecture and design, it's past and present, and then generously allows that Philly is almost but not quite as neat as every other city on the Eastern Seaboard. Geoff Manaugh has a disdain for Philadelphia, and barely a surface-level insight into the city. Perhaps a tourist that visited Philly once may remember the "colonial kitsch" if they visited the Liberty Bell and a few other popular tourist sites exclusively, but what does that have to do with a Dwell Magazine article? And cheesesteaks? Fire bombings from 1985? These all sound like the very specific random bits of information pulled from one writer's head who couldn't be bothered with putting in the work to discover, well, anything new about the nation's 6th most populous city. I expect your articles to reveal new and inspiring design and architecture instead of echoing tired cliches and spouting negativity. I've never read another article in your magazine that had this kind of tone.

• Jackie07.27.2009

  Philadelphia is a thriving city with spectacular architecture and design. Even outside of Center City there are stunning neighborhoods with close knit communities working to improve the streetscapes and quality of life. This article is insulting. Geoff, aren't you from Philadelphia?

• Danya07.27.2009

  I don't know a single person who thinks of "colonial kitsch" when they think Philadelphia, and that includes all of my friends, clients & acquaintances who do not live here. It's a bad opening for the article, because Ken says a lot of good things, none of which comes across in the introduction. Kind of as if the author felt it was necessary to knock Philly down just so the article could be more "exciting." Which it's not, anyway. And in the body of the article, why so much (negative) focus on the PSFS bldg and Kimmel Center? And no mention of any other storied Philadelphia architecture, of which you need only read a smattering of Inga's columns to find. Yuck.

• Austin Charles Benton07.27.2009

  I've lived in Philly for quite some time now, and i don't think i'd ever go to the PSFS building for drinks when there are so many more interesting places and neighborhoods to hang out in. im frankly amazed that the article makes no mention of northern liberties (which is basically being redeveloped with dwell style buildings) Passyunk avenue, Rittenhouse square. Frankly i don't care for the zombie movie comment because it specifically degrades certain under privileged neigborhoods as not worth visiting. And the MOVE reference? what are you a 25 year old anarchist from west philly?? that happened a generation ago. Philadelphia has tried to move past that for years, and Frankly I applaud the city ive chosen to make my home for trying to be greener, healthier and more cultured.

• m.07.28.2009

  Wow. What an insult to a great city and it's residents. Other articles in the Dwell Detour series seem to be written by people who are at least interested in the city they are reviewing.

• kristin07.29.2009

  I've had my ups and downs with Philadelphia over the years but nothing in regards to its design and architecture. This article is so narrow in scope in regards to architecture, design and neighborhood revitalization. You should have least gotten a writer who wasn't so lazy as to venture outside of center city into some of the other wonderful/remarkable neighborhoods. Some have great revitalization/ sustainable projects which are on the forefront as much as any other city. A solar housing/eco-friendly housing that was just built in Chestnut Hill off Germantown Ave. (one of the oldest streets in the City). . for one. The revitalization of particular neighborhoods like University City, Art Museum area and near Girard Avenue. The Eastern Penitentury? Even Manayunk? I hope I never see another article by this "writer". Good reporting requires a little more research and investigation then running around town with 1 cantankerous source.

• Diana07.29.2009

  As a life-long Philadelphia resident, I know that you didn't do any research before writing this article. Visit our city, watch our World Champion baseball team, take a trip to Independence Hall before a great dinner or barhopping, and actually talk to some locals. Philly is the most historic city in the country, but has remained a modern and fascinating place to visit thanks to neighborhood revitalization and amazing tourist attractions for all ages. Did you even visit Philly before writing this?

• Ruby07.29.2009

  This just confirms that Inga and her husband are the most embarrassingly clueless couple in Philadelphia. Congrats. Nothing to do in the neighborhood of the PSFS building?!?!? It's across the street from the Reading Terminal Market!!!! And pretty much a block from one of the city's trendiest neighborhoods - "Midtown Village" aka the Gayborhood. None of this should be considered a surprise. Inga once wrote a piece criticizing plans to tear down a dilapidated motor lodge that is located on Philadelphia's version of the Champs-Élysées.

• not even from philly07.29.2009

  but even I could ask more provoking questions. Clearly the writer just emailed this one in, without any thought or concern for substance. Philadelphia is a very livable city, with plenty of character, architecture that dates back hundreds of years, and a very diverse population. A great place to visit AND to live

• Elyse Rettig07.31.2009

  Hi. I read your article and felt compelled to add my two cents. As a native of Philadelphia who has worked and lived in both Baltimore and New York I am appalled at the article that was written. It does not at all capture what it is like to work and live in Philadelphia. I live in Old City where the supposed colonial kitsch is. What you missed are the first class restaurants, shopping, arts and culture that thrive in Philadelphia. No offense to Novelist Ken Kalfus but I do not think he is any kind of authority on living in Philadelphia based on the demographic makeup of your magazine. From Old City to Rittenhouse Square, Northern Liberties and the neighboring suburbs, Philadelphia has so much more to offer that you were so quick to dismiss. Next time do your homework. Here is a piece to get started with - http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/features/philly0510/philly.html

• Steve08.24.2009

  Unprofessional, insulting, and barely scratches the surface of the myriad cultural and gastronomical amenities that this city has to offer. All it would take is a two hour walk through Center City, Manayunk, Northern Liberties, to see that Philadelphia is much more than a city full of 'bombed out, zombie-style, dead neighborhoods.' And Inga and co. have never been the sharpest tools in the shed.

• Lauren03.05.2011

  This was the most biased articles I have read in a long time. The writer did not do his homework on the rich history, culture, architecture, art, academic or agricultural influence of this city. I don't care what this writer feels or thinks about Philadelphia. If this writer was worth his salt at all, he would have put his personal feelings aside for just a moment and maybe he would have learned something. As for the interviewed subject, you sound like you just moved here and is so full of his own self importance and limited and sheltered experience within this fair city. It is very very unfortunate that Geoff was the "representative" of Philadelphia and that this writer was responsible for the research.

• michael carter03.10.2011

  i certainly hope that even in 2009 dwell magazine had good enough sense to properly train this geoff manaugh or fire him. he's seems either unexposed to architecture or maybe he's just not that well-travelled. or perhaps he simply is a very junior wrtiter aspiring to be an architectural critic. in any event, it's evident he lacks basic journalistic integrity and architectural insight. it's clear he did no research for this article. philadelphia is one of the most architectually significant cities in north america. it's also one of its most beautiful cities. that "path along the Schuylkill" leads to an 8,000 acre park, part of one of the largest urban park systems in the world. the beneficiary of 300+ years of urban planning, few american cities are as human-centered, vibrant and thoughtfully laid-out as philadelphia. our culinary prowess, world-class cultural and academic institutions, professional sports teams and distinction as america's birthplace are each worthy of their own treatise. there are many more informative, balanced tourist articles about philly than the drivel above. but, the 1988 new york times article below discussing our first tall skyscrapers and the challenges modern buildings present to an historic city our then-new city plan might give insightful context to philly's development. maybe his reading it might be a good starting point to fill the educational gaps for this geoff fellow. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/12/arts/architecture-philadelphia-s-master-plan-rests-on-its-streets.html

• Muteti Ndeti04.14.2011

  My only comment. I'm incredibly proud of the wealth of responses from everyone up here defending "our" city. NY & Cali don't have a monopoly on the creative class. A megazillion Thank You's, Tet Ndeti (reppin' Cobbs Creek in W Philly)

• Margo Heegeman01.07.2012

  Boathouse Row, Kelly Drive, the new Cira Centre, Liberty 1 and 2, the new Comcast Building, Suburban Station, the LOVE statue, Philadelphia Academy of the Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Clothespin, Farmount Park, Society Hill.............

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